Watching Her
by MyShadowWalksBesideMe
Summary: Everyone lies. Sometimes, people just lie by their silence.


**Hey! I know I'm taking a ridiculously long time on my other story, but it's taking FOR EVER to edit and I just came up with this watching House one night.**

_"I love you.  
You'll get the results in a few weeks."_

_"Amazing. The most important day of my life and you're still an ass."_

_"Everyone lies."_

_"Everyone lies."_

_"Everyone lies."_

He watched her. He saw the way she worried on her lip when no one was watching. The way her eyebrows pulled together.

Cameron was going to worry herself to death if she didn't get the test. But she kept refusing.

House was rude. House was crude. House was insensitive. He didn't care about the way people felt. But he cared about Cameron.

He couldn't show it in conventional ways. So he showed it by criticizing her a little more sharply than the others and helping her become a better doctor; hurting her feelings to give her a tough skin.

House knew better than anyone that any romantic relationship of his, after Stacey, would be a non-starter. It really wasn't any of his business, how Cameron reacted to her AIDS scare. but she wasn't _doing_ anything. She was just worrying herself to death. He refused to let Cameron torture herself like that any longer.

So one day, he limped up to her and ... lied?

No, not quite. He told the truth for his own ends, fully aware that he would take it back.

"I love you." Her mouth dropped open and he took the opportunity to slip the swab inside her mouth, doing his best to ignore perfect pink lips and rosy blushing cheeks.

"You'll get the results in a few weeks," he told her, walking away without a backward glance.

--

Her results came. He sat and stared at the envelope on his desk for a good ten minutes before opening it with shaking hands.

Negative. The results were negative. His Cameron was safe. Trying to hide his exhilaration, House called her in.

"Your results are in," he said curtly, tossing the envelope into her lap. She fumbled, then held it up. Her eyes narrowed.

"It's open." He shrugged.

"Couldn't take the suspense." For once, his sarcasm wasn't quite genuine. She rolled her eyes.

"Amazing. The most important day of my life and you're still an ass." He watched her open the envelope with a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"I -- I --" She looked up at him, open mouthed. "The results are negative." Why was it, whenever something important happened to Cameron, it was all House could do not to stare at her lips?

"Congratulations," he smirked. She stalked out of his office leaving him to gloat in private. His Cameron was safe.

--

There she was, in all her glory, standing in his apartment and saying that she loved him. How many times had he thought about a situation like this? Dreamed that she was in his apartment saying these words?

Cameron held out a hand, silently begging him to take it and make her happy.

House stared at her in silence. He wanted to say something, anything.

_I'm bitter and you're sweet. Opposite ends of the tongue._

_You're too happy to let me drag you down for the rest of my life._

_I won't let you handicap yourself with a cripple._

_Chase loves you. Marry him and be happy with someone normal._

He watched in silence as Cameron let her hand fall. The moment had passed, and he'd failed to take the opportunity of a lifetime.

"Goodbye, House."

And he was alone. As always. Alone, with nothing but memories and wishes to keep him company.

House was right. Everyone lied. Some just lied by their silence.

--

He couldn't help the flash of regret when she quit. Chase, he'd been through teaching. He'd been hoping that Cameron would stay a little longer. Maybe he'd think of something else to teach her. But, as usual, life decided he needed to be left bereft once again. So House contented himself with watching Cameron from a distance. Observing her. Making sure everything went okay. Discreetly, of course.

He watched as she dyed her hair, laughed with the nurses, did what she loved.

He watched as she started dating Chase, watched as she fell in love with him just as he'd predicted.

He watched as she fought with Chase over her dead husband, and came to _him_ for advice.

He let her pace around his office, ranting, when anyone else would have been thrown out with a blinding dose of sarcasm.

House didn't care about what people thought. He did, however, care about Cameron. That's why, when she came to him for advice, he told her what she would have to do to be happy. Even when it meant he lost her forever.

House was a rude, crude, selfish, immature, _brilliant_ and generally grumpy teenager in an adult's battered body. But for once in his life, he did the selfless thing. He let Cameron go.


End file.
